Quantcast

Waugh surprised by flat Australians

Ashes legend impressed by energetic England but believes tourists will bounce back at Lord's

Former captain Steve Waugh said Australia’s lack of energy in the first Test in Cardiff and the upbeat nature of the England side made it look “almost like we’d swapped our caps” from the 2013-14 series.

Australia dominated the 2013-14 Ashes to the point that they secured just the third five-nil whitewash in the storied history of the rivalry, however the tables were emphatically turned in last week’s series opener as England emerged convincing 169-run winners.

Quick Single: Cardiff loss wake-up call we needed

Coach Darren Lehmann and captain Michael Clarke both conceded their side had been outplayed by an England side rejuvenated under new coach Trevor Bayliss and committed to playing the same positive, aggressive brand of cricket that had worked so well for the Australians in 2013-14.

“England played very well, I was impressed,” Waugh said at a Hardys Wine event in London last night.

“They seemed really together, working for each other, they played aggressively. 

Quick Single: Johnson will rattle England at Lord's: Harmison 

“I liked the look of some of their players – I like (allrounder Ben) Stokes, I think he gives England some real energy and impetus.

“(Paceman Mark) Wood, I like the look of his bowling, again he gets stuck in (and) I think that’s what England has been missing the past 12-18 months.

“From Australia’s point of view, we’ll play much better, there’s no doubt about that – I think we’ll come back at Lord’s.

“We weren’t at our best. We just seemed to lack a bit of energy for whatever reason in that first Test, which was unlike us.

“In fact, when I was watching, it was almost like we’d swapped our caps for that Test match.

“It looked like, not in a bad way, but (in comparison to) in the recent series in Australia, the way England played in Australia, it looked like that, but we’ll turn it round for sure.”

Video: Aussie concerns ahead of Lord's

The Australians head into the second Test with injury and form concerns as they look to avoid slipping to a third straight Ashes defeat at Lord’s.

Quick Single: Ending recent trends, and revisiting history

Question marks still surround the fitness of left-arm quick Mitchell Starc, while Shane Watson’s future appears to be hanging in the balance after he disappointed in the first Test and young allrounder Mitchell Marsh scored hundreds in both tour matches.

Quick Single: Warner backs Watson ahead of second Test

Former Test quick Glenn McGrath cautioned against change as a “knee-jerk reaction”, however Darren Lehmann gave no guarantees Watson would be part of the XI to take the field for the second Test.

Video: Lehmann fronts the press 

Click above to learn more about how to stream the Ashes and more cricket